


The Blame Game

by Lipush



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: 74th Hunger Games, Careers (Hunger Games), Drama, Gen, Humor, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-05-28 04:09:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6314671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lipush/pseuds/Lipush
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Hunger Games are all about Tributes killing each other publically for the Capitol's amusement. But what if a tribute gets killed before actually entering the arena? In this 'Blame Game' all bets are off, and everyone's guilty until proven innocent.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

                                                                                                                                                              

 

**A/N:** **Excitement! This is my first "Hunger Games" fanfiction! So this idea came up to me while watching XWP and it's basically based on one of the episodes. Wouldn't be hard to miss, in case you watched the show. In case you haven't, then buckle up and enjoy the ride.**

**I don't own XWP or The Hunger Games trilogy.**

**Spoilers:** **the first book, the night before the 74** **th** **arena.**

**Rating** **: T**

* * *

**The Blame Game:**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

'Whoever decided on refilling the booze supply, should be given a prize,' Haymitch thinks as he gulps another mouthful of the bitter liquor. He's surely going to need it for tomorrow's show.

The 74th roll of the Hunger Games starts tomorrow, and not even clinging on the slightest of hopes of bringing one of them alive, is going to detach him from his favorite occupational hazard- AKA drinking till he faints.

He takes his time enjoying those rare moments of silence, the absence of Johanna's scowls and Chaff's croaks of intoxicated laughter. 'Take a moment to cherish all that, Haymitch,' he thinks silently, into the night, 'just a moment to…'

"HAYMITCH!"

Oh, hell.

Just what he needs.

"You rang?" he lifts his eyes tiredly, when Effie bursts into the room, all high hills and a radio-active yellow-green outfit, looking like a traffic-sign.

"Whell!" she is all dramatic, as usual, "I should have guessed!" she scolds, noticing him holding the bottle, "The children?" she asks after a moment.

"Hell if I knew…" he shrugs, "Probably trying to sleep, they still have 4 hours till showtime, and…what are you doing here, again?" her fake eyelashes are a physically painful sight, flashing and giving him the whiplash.

"If you must know…" she stamps her foot, then walks towards the leather couch, taking her seat, "I'm here to accompany my tributes on the last night of staying here."

He arches and eyebrow, "Since when do you do that?" he asks suspiciously.

"Since I got the feeling we have a chance of winning, this year," she folds her arms on her chest, emphasizing.

"Whatever."

"And, well…."

He waits, and she twists uncomfortably on the couch, "You remember the new common department they decided to open up this year…" she says.

He twitches his lips, fighting a grin; He can already guess what comes next. It was this year when they decided to open a "common lobby" for the tributes. It's a big, wide room, with two long passages which lead to the elevators, when they can just sit and interact with one another. Game-makers decided that letting the tributes have this "club" might help careers to form alliances better, they probably wanted to "spice things up" in the games.

Well, someone has to babysit.

"So, you're the last night's nanny, Effie?" he does laugh this time, "that's right up your alley, ha ha!"

Effie is not amused, pursing her lips like a fish, making the orange lipstick look even more ridiculous on her pale mouth, "I hardly find this amusing, Haymitch!" she growls, "Me, watching the careers? The girl from 2 is very unpleasant to be around! Did you know that?" Haymitch's laughter increases at that, no kidding! "And the girl from 4 is completely foolish! At least they could give me a more suitable way of passing my time, hmm!"

Haymitch's shoulder shakes a bit with amusement, and he asks, "Who signed you up for this, anyway?"

"That will be Plutarch Heavensbee." her eyes narrow in annoyance.

He'll have to invite Plutarch for a free round of scotch on him, that's what he'll do. "Loosen your corset, sweetheart," he says, "chill. Have a drink," and at her expanse he adds, "It's gonna be a big, big, big day tomorrow."

* * *

As Glimmer sits aside next to the corner table, stuffing another honey-muffin into her half-filled stomach, she sneaks side-glares at the big screen, her nose twists in disgust.

Cato and her district partner, Marvel, are comfortably half lying on the couch, completely comfortable, and unworried about tomorrow. Of course, they are career district, and don't have any real reason to worry. For years, they've been known for controlling the arena, everyone fear them.

But even knowing that, the career males' choice of passing the last hours before the games, is hardly considered "fun" in her book.

They watch a film that some in the capitol like to watch. She believes it's called "Horror Movie". Why on earth do Capitol citizens even enjoy those movies is beyond her. Maybe they see the Hunger Games in them, somehow.

Glimmer thinks they're revolting.

Clove, on her part, sits on one of the sided chairs, laughing with the boys at the gruesome parts of the movie, and Glimmer doesn't participate. Seriously, it's just gross.

"What is that even…. What _is_ that?" she calls from the other side of the room, abruptly.

Cato turns around and grins, "It's some greasy remake of a movie filmed before the dark days," he turns back at the part in which a small, terrifying blonde girl stabs someone in the face, her features demonic and eyes shining yellow, "Ts'called 'The Exorcist', ever heard of it?"

She shakes her head 'No'.

"Well, neither have I, but it's funny as shit!" another roll of laughter. Marvel and Clove follow suit.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm gonna try and sleep," she rises up from her chair, about to cross the hallway, "Knock yourselves out with this trash."

She turns to the elevator, on her way to the first floor, when she hears an echo of amusement, some "Hahaha", and "Ewww," and before reaching the elevator, she hears Marvel calling after her, "Hey, Glimmer, I bet you can't barf pistachio cream like this girl!"

She rolls her eyes.

* * *

It's an hour later, when Effie thanks the universe when the careers finally part the Lobby, all three of them sending her murderous stares as they do. She thinks she notes some meaningful glare-exchange between the bulky, blonde one from district 2, and his partner, the scary girl with the knives.

'They'll probably share the room for the night', Effie thinks, disapprovingly. She needs to tell Haymitch and ask him to put some sense into Enobaria and Cheron, this is an unacceptable behavior.

* * *

As Peeta and Katniss look outside the window to the city-lights, silently consider how lucky those empty shell of people, the Capitol puppets are, they hear a noise coming from one of the rooms.

"Did you hear that?" Katniss asks her district partner silently, and he nods.

They both leave their current position, and exit the top floor.

* * *

It's the chilly breeze that wakes Haymitch from his place on the couch, the liquor finally taking affect, and he stirs awake, noticing Effie slightly snoring, lying on the couch next to him. She drools a bit, her body twists in a weird position.

It's the window, slightly open, and when searching around, wildly, Haymitch notices a shadow, a figure, disappearing in the hallway.

And a weird sound.

"Effie," he mumbles, pushing on her shoulders, "Effie, wake up…" he shakes her, "Effie! Rise and shine!" he calls, loudly.

She jumps alert, wiping her dripping cheek, "Uh, eh, wut? Happy Hunger Games!" she cries stupidly, eyes wide, forcing herself awake.

Haymitch chuckles, "You fell asleep, beauty queen," he grins, and Effie is about to say something when another noise comes from one of the floors, "What is that?" asks the escort, blinking in confusion.

"I dunno, you're the night's watcher, sweetheart," Effie's eyes narrow at that, "But I heard that, too, let's check this out."

They both stand, and leave the room.

When doing so, they hear whispers and soft noises, Haymitch recognize them belonging to the tributes, but can't identify his own kids among them, "I think it's coming from the common lobby," he tells Effie in the dark, "C'mon".

They step down the stairs, the muffled words of the children increase, and he suddenly hears a scream, and "Oh, MY GOD!"

'That can't be a good sign!' he thinks to himself, and among shocked voices he hears Peeta and Katniss, equally surprised at what they apparently all see in the lobby, once the lights flick on.

Effie stares. He stares. They all stare.

Right there, on the floor of the lobby, lies a girl, her hair blonde, eyes closed.

She's dressed in pink pajamas, with fluffy slippers.

Doesn't take a genius to figure out. It's one of the career girls. Glimmer, Haymitch guesses she's called. The sexy doll from district 1.

And she has a knife sticking out of her chest.

Dead.

"Well, this isn't very festive!" Effie calls in protest.

* * *

"We're totally screwed," Johanna states the obvious.

Haymitch sighs, burying his head in his palm, shaking his head, disbelieving.

Never, in the history of the hunger games, something like this ever happened. Usually tributes wait for the games themselves to die… they don't usually end up like…well, this.

"Oh no, we're not screwed. That puffy stupid Barbie who looks like a cotton candy is the screwed one!" Cashmere fumes, pointing a finger at Haymitch, "and you're the one who's gonna have to answer to Snow!" she blames him.

" _Me_?! What the hell did _I_ do?" Haymitch backs off, defensively.

"You and your stupid escort were supposed to watch over the kids!" Gloss supports his sister, "And now one of my own is dead! Glimmer had a good chance of winning this thing, too! I hope 12's gonna pay for this mess-up!" he reproaches.

"Guys, relax," Seeder tries to reason with them, "No one could expect this to happen," Chaff nods dumbly at his partner-victor, and Cecilia exhales tiredly and says, "We're all going to have a huge problem soon. A tribute was killed tonight, and the games start tomorrow. Of course they'll need to tell all what happened, and find someone to take her place, but the bigger issue here is…who stabbed this Glimmer girl?"

District 9's male victor hurries in defense of his own, "Well, let's not start playing the blame game, here, shall we?" he glares at the unmoving form of the dead girl, "she could have had a heart condition."

Johanna rolls her eyes, and sarcastically interjects, "Right, Brainless. I bet you it grew that knife, too." She slaps him across the head, "moron."

"Hey, I didn't…" another victor tries and interfere, when Johanna adds something else, and then.

"Quiet."

They turn around, and are met with the white, ice-cold face of President Snow, all official, as usual. Behind him stands Seneca Crane, his funny beard twitching in nervousness.

President Snow glares down at the girl, and sighs, "Well, this is unexpectedly unfortunate," he says in an even tone, and his eyes wonder to Cashmere and Gloss, "one of yours?" he asks, indifferently.

"Sir…Yes, Sir," Gloss said, sending Haymitch a hateful glare.

"Ah," President Snow is surprisingly calm, "Well, in that case, I guess another tribute from district 1 is on order….Seneca?" he turns his head aside, and Seneca fearfully nods.

"I don't guess any of you have the….slightest idea how this girl was killed?" he raises a hairy, white eyebrow.

23 victors shake their heads 'No'.

"I see…" he comments, "Who was tonight's responsibility, Seneca?"

"That'd be Effie Trinket, Sir."

President Snow hums, scratching his head thoughtfully; "Pitty." He finally says.

Haymitch gulps.

"And the current tributes?"

"All locked in the 5th floor, Sir."

"Very well," Snow concludes, and then, to the victors, "You see, now. We have a problem here. This girl was killed, apparently intentionally, and we cannot afford such thing to happen under our watch. As it's sensible to presume one of the people in this building did it, I have no choice but punishing that person, now do I?"

The victors change meaningful looks. That can't be good.

"I need to know who that person is. And I trust that whoever this individual may be… he will be handed off, willingly, by all of you," Snow's snake eyes wonder to all present. "And they will be punished accordingly. Since we have about," he glances at a small, round, watch, "3 and a half hours till dawn, and you're the finest of the people, not to mention, those who were here while it happened, I trust you to being me the culprit of this rude act…" his eyes twitch, evilly. "Or else, I can promise you a painful punishment to all districts in the approaching Quarter Quell. Am I clear enough?"

Another look-exchange. Lots of nods.

"And trust my word. In case the killer won't be brought over till the games open, each and every one of the ones in this building will be personally punished. Arena or districts."

He then turns around, silently leaving the room.

"Well…" Finnick shrugs, turning to Haymitch, "I don't suppose you have some of that liquor left, man? It's gonna be a very long night."

* * *

**A/N- Did I get your attention?:)**

**Reviews are love!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** **-** **This story is supposed to be more fun than angst, so don't over-think it, folks.** **Occasional OOC is more than possible, but I'll try not to go too far with it.**

**Those who review get free cookies and a digital smooch!**

* * *

**The Blame Game**

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

The lobby falls silent, as the mentors take a minute to examine the scene in-front of them.

"Ok, so we got till sunrise to solve this thing," Haymitch says, turning around to take another sip of his liquor, "might as well get started."

Finnick folds his arms on his chest, impatient, "Figures," he mumbles, "Leave it to Snow to try and frame an innocent party." He shakes his head in disapproval.

"She was a total stranger," Cecilia says quietly.

Haymitch narrows his eyes, resting his glass on the glass table, "then I guess it's time we get acquainted."

"Where are you going?" Johanna huffs when he turns to leave.

Haymitch shrugs, "We may not have known her, but we have a couple of dozen of youngsters who did, so might as well get on with it."

They exchange worried looks, and soon enough, 24 confused children cross the hallway minutes after.

When noticing the body, some gasp in shock, which is kind of ironic, considering most of them will probably meet far worse fate then this, in a few hours.

Effie notices the little boy from district 4 turning a little green, and the small girl from 11, is her name Rue? Blinking rapidly, big Thresh squeezing her tiny hand, trying to hide her behind his back.

The somewhat strange looking, emotionless girl from 3 just stares, and Katniss visibly frowns. Peeta tilts his head, gaze mixed with worry and curiosity.

Haymitch offers the tributes a full, sarcastic smile, then says, "Well, since we're all here… I will try the easy way. Which one of you _, geniuses_ , couldn't wait for the gong and had to finish this girl off now, hhm?"

Eyes start traveling around the room, as the tributes turn to gaze at each other, probably touring for the inner-detective they think they inhabit; Clove sent arrows with her eyes to all tributes, the career boy, Cato, folded his beefy arms on his chest, probably trying to look menacing, while the tall one, Marvel, just looked pissed.

" _Well_?"

Surprisingly enough, the only sound in the room was Haymitch's stomach, trying to digest the alcohol.

"Ok…." He turns around to look at the body, "Investigative Victors 101, my dear boys and girls," he clicks his knuckles dramatically, "first lesson," he points at the corpse, "look for clues."

"Mhhhm," Haymitch mumbles, behind him, Beetee removed his glasses to clean them, while Wiress just seems curious. "Interesting…"

"What?" the boy from 4, one of the youngest, is obviously both scared and fascinated.

"What do we see here?" Haymitch asks, gesturing around the body.

Next to Glimmer's right thigh is an electronic candle, and two more are lying, fallen, next to her shoulders.

Looking up, the candlesticks can be seen as part of the chandelier, "Now that's interesting," he says, "there are three candles on the floor," he blinks drunkenly, "but only two empty spaces on the chandelier…"

Katniss' forehead clear, "so…where did the third candle come from?" she asks quietly, and the tributes turn to look at her.

"Ah-Ha!" Haymitch's finger points the air, emphasizing the riddle, "first question unanswered."

"Hey, guys, check this out," The blonde tribute girl from district 7, who disappeared behind Blight a moment ago, re-appears, holding a leather bag, "I think that belonged to the girl, and it has all this stuff in, maybe it can help us."

She tosses the bag on the large wooden table and opens it, the others grouping around her.

"Where did she even get this bag?" Jason, one of the tributes, asks, "We're all supposed to come here with nothing but the clothes we have on us."

"And an occasional token, if we want," Beetee says usefully, the glasses again on his button nose.

Opening the bag, the girl from 7 starts pulling out the content, "Mhmm," she mumbles, "two large books," she puts them on the table, "two gold necklaces…" those join the books, "a box of condoms…. A box of condoms? Eww…" behind her, one of the girls giggles, "Geez, who did she even plan on… oh, never mind! And….one of these…" she twists her face as she pulls out a tiny fabric bag, "inside…" she turns it upside-down, reveling a bunch of tiny stones, "Stones? This girl was weird…" the rest have to agree. "And pretty much, that's it." She shrugs.

"Well, that was helpful," the girl from 9 says, "NOT."

Behind the group, Marvel rolls his eyes, "should have known…" he growls, and Cato turns to him, "Only a matter of time before this air-head did something stupid."

That takes Haymitch by surprise, "Don't tell me, kid…" he snorts humorlessly, "You knew eachother, right?"

Marvel then pauses, unsure of his next words. God knows, it's beneath him, to talk to one of 12 like an equal, but the idea of being punished for murder doesn't seem attractive, either- "Oh, I knew her," he says, "she was in my class, a crazy girl, suited perfectly for the Hunger Games," he says offhandedly, but then his eyes darken, as he adds, "A poster girl for our district, mind you," his eyes twitch, "like all of us, she was raised into luxury, being the best of the best. The sexiest, most successful. She wanted to "mark" herself in every way," all the tributes listen carefully, "There was this girl in our class, Riplet," he recalls, "She put an eye one of the boys Glimmer liked at the time, wouldn't back off. You know what she did?"

Haymitch is afraid to ask.

"She poisoned the girl's dog, and hanged its stinky copse on the school's fence."

The boy from 4 gasps. "Poor doggy!" he cries, and the tributes have to agree. Even Cato is surprised; he didn't know this chick had it in her. "Let's just say, it was one of her signature moves, she didn't like cats or dogs to begin with. And since every other kid in the district had a dog…well, you get the picture."

Ohh, yeah, they sure did.

"Who was the last one to leave this lobby?" Finnick asks, abruptly.

The three careers exchange meaningful looks as everyone turn to look at them. A frustrated sigh is heard, and then an angered, frustrated voice, "Alright, alright!" Clove admits, "It was me, I was the last one to walk out of here."

"Aha!" Chaff booms, "so you admit it!" he turns towards the body, "maybe you like those doggies a little too much…." He clenches his fists on his hips dramatically, "let me rephrase that…" he pauses for effect, "Glimmer here killed some pets, you got mad, now she's dead."

Haymitch raises an eyebrow at his friend, and Johanna rolls her eyes. Cecilia holds back a grin.

"Oh, C'mon, do I need to spell it out for you? Clove in the lobby with a knife!" Chaff insists, waving his arms in emphasis.

Clove growls, "Oh, get a clue!" she shoots back, "We're a pack! Do you really think I'd hurt one of the careers? You're delusional, plant-boy!" she's rude and mocking by now, "I didn't even know about it till Marvel told us the story now," she spits, "Besides, I don't even like dogs!"

"So you say…" Chaff insists.

"Alright, alright!" Haymitch hurries to back it up, slapping Chaff's chest, earning him an "Hey!", "No one's blaming anyone until we get some facts straight. Now let's take a breather for a couple of minutes, and think this through. Everyone, go rest for 5 minutes, let the adults here do some thinking, alright?"

* * *

As Cecilia and Finnick stay to examine the silent body again, maybe looking for some more answers, a voice calls from behind them, "Hey, look what I found!"

They turn around, to see the boy from 10 with a small package, the mentors and tributes surrounding him to have a look. Neither of them notices the uncomfortable, hand-in-the-cookie-jar look that appears on the face of a young 16 year old girl.

As the boy opens the package, they all inhale at the sight. Inside the fabric rest a small amount of tiny shining objects. 7 in number.

"Diamonds," Peeta blinks, confused.

"Not just any…." Katniss adds, "District 1 diamonds… token, maybe?"

"Yes, token…found in Finch's room… care to explain that, Finch?" the boy from 10 snaps.

The tall girl with the fox-like-face from district 5 looks around uncomfortably, saying nothing. Well, considering that Foxface is one of the smartest among them, it's kind of surprising she got caught stealing. Is she losing her edge? That's won't help her in the arena.

"Well, Finch is known for having the eye for expensive stuff," her partner in district comments usefully, and she shoots him an annoyed glare. "Ok, ok!" she finally says, "I admit it, I saw some of those diamonds, and…they called out to me, alright?" she fesses up, "But what does it matter, we have a killer among us, and I'm not talking about Hunger-Games killer!"

"People have killed for a lot less than diamonds, Finch," Beetee says in a calculated voice.

Foxface doesn't budge, "Yes, and in the arena, one of us is going to live, while the other dies, so each option given, me killing her would have been redundant. Besides, I'm not a cold blooded killer! otherwise, I would have been the part of the careers! Do you see a "ruthless murderer" written anywhere on my 5 points score rap-sheet?"

"Mhmmm…" district 6 boy says, "Professional thief… escape-artist extraordinaire… MASTERMIND OF DISGUISE!" the last part is says in a loud shout, and Finch blurts out "shutup!", obviously having enough of this.

The boy doesn't give up, "I bet you anything, that hair is a wig!" he pulls on her scalp forcefully.

"Awww!" Finch yelps, then punches the boy straight in the face. He falls backwards with a thud.

"Finch could have robbed her after she was dead," Cato shrugs, thinking, while District 6's girl kneels down, trying to slap her partner awake.

"After sh…. Now you listen here, buddy! I've got my standards!" Finch points at her threateningly, "And…"

"And she wasn't the only one to go through Glimmer's stuff," Katniss interjects indifferently.

"Whe…what do you mean," Thresh asks, blinking.

Katniss sighs, "In the bag there was an empty box," she says, "and since we've just learned Glimmer didn't just carry empty stuff in her bag, it's not a career thing to carry more than you need, anyway, then…"

"What was inside?"

Peeta shrugs, "A piece of paper," he says, "torn paper, Katniss and I were just talking about it, maybe someone took the other piece."

"Finch could have taken that, too!" The boy from 10 jumps and says.

"F'course I _could have_!" Finch replies sarcastically, but Haymitch brushes off the option, "No, it's obviously not her style," and Finch nods at that, "whoever did it was sloppy. And obviously was trying to throw us off."

Wiress blinks, "How can you tell?"

"I might be a drunken loser, but I do notice the little things, more than others," Haymitch says, "like the tiny fact that Glimmer hated lavender, or anything concerning it." He grabs the piece of torn paper, shoving it towards her, "smell it."

She takes a sniff, but there is no need to, the room leaks with the scent, "Smells lavender-ry, alright," Cecilia approves.

"Lavender perfume," Finnick concludes.

An uncomfortable snort is heard from behind him, "But that's….just ridiculous!" it's seeder giggling nervously, "the only one here who tends to love lavender here is…" she gulps.

Like in slow motion, 47 faces turn to their right, to the tribute standing at the other corner, like a deer caught in a crossfire.

" _Me_?" little Rue squeaks.


	3. Chapter 3

** The Blame Game: **

**Chapter 3 **

Chaff darts in protest. "Oh, wait, wait, wait a minute, now," he calls, detaching from the group to stand next to his young tribute, all fake-humor aside and forgotten. He places his good arm on the child's shoulders, frowning, "Sure, it looks bad… Rue in the lobby with a knife, but… it's obvious that what may seem as…-"

"Obvious?" Rue's astonished gaze wander up to look at him in confusion, "Chaff, this thing only smells of lave-"

The mentor slaps her mouth shot, and hisses- "Will you shush? I'm trying to help you out here…!" then he drops his hand, and Rue just blinks in further confusion but is clever enough to keep quiet.

"Now, it's ridiculous to even consider the possibility of Rue killing this girl. Heck, Glimmer must have been twice her size, and at the time this slaying took place," Chaff determines, "My tribute's whereabouts were completely, unequivocally, and without a doubt _unknown_." His last word is emphasized with a pointy finger at the group.

Seeder sighs. This night just can't get any worse, and Chaff seems to be burying their grave even deeper, instead of actually helping.

Blinking, realizing how what he just said may sound, he leaves no room for interpretation- "Which is nothing like saying she was anywhere near the common lobby at the time of the murder."

"Oh, ok," Rue lets in, "I admit I found her odd, the way she acted and behaved in the training center… she freaked me out, just a little," the girl shrugs, "But I don't touch other tributes' stuff, no matter how they smell."

Seeder nods once, "See, Haymitch?" she argues, "You can't seriously suspect Rue."

"Until we found out who did this, I'd say it is fair enough to suspect anyone…" Haymitch narrows his eyes and looks around.

"This is getting absurd," Blight points out, then with a nod to Johanna and the other mentors, he leaves to the bathroom.

Haymitch growls, "Finnick," he calls, "It was my district's responsibility, but I'm gonna need your help," the Bronze colored hair boy nods at him acceptingly, "Johanna, yours, too," the two turn to accompany Haymitch, "And Chaff…?" the district 11 mentor turns to look at him expectantly, "Don't need your help."

Chaff nearly pouts at that.

"The rest of you.. stay on this floor. Don't try to be smart or brave about it. Snow will not find it amusing." He then turns to leave.

* * *

 

"This is crazy…" Finnick thinks aloud as they step back into the common lobby, "Those kids aren't the wisest gang, I give you that, but… they must have known how foolish it is to stab a tribute _before_ the actual games start…" he scratches his head, "I find it hard to grasp they'd do _this_ …"

"Well," Johanna moves to stand in front of the young girls body, taking it in momentarily, "tributes can be very unexpected," the then looks up to him, and a mischievous grin appears on her face suddenly, "not that I'd know anything about that," she says half-jokingly.

He smiles back, just when Haymitch calls, "Hey, look at that."

On the other side of the room, basically in the corner, Haymitch notices what seems to be some sort of a metal pipe. " _Now that is weird_!"

"Not so much," Johanna shrugs, "I recognize this, it's a testing-pipe. They use it with the ovens' check up."

"Yes, but," Haymitch ponders, "Do you see a heating system in this lobby? No. A fireplace? No. A stove? No! Do you know what that means?"

Johanna and Finnick exchange looks, then turn to stare at Haymitch again. "No…" they say, frowning.

"Hmm," Haymitch hesitates, "me neither."

Johanna shakes her head at him, while Finnick shrugs and Haymitch turns to test the surroundings again. It's when he notices the furniture's' covers are placed oddly, and the floor is quite dusty, though he can recall the Avoxes taking care of the cleaning earlier this morning.

Haymitch bends down next to the body. The knife is positioned brutally, he notices, and right beneath the girl's right ear, he notices a red mark he sure wasn't there before. What is it? A rash? A bruise? Was she hit there before being stabbed?

"The door leading to the main hall was locked," Johanna says usefully, cutting his line of thought, "and from the _inside_ … now the question remains, who locked it behind them? Glimmer, or our culprit?"

"Interesting observation," Haymitch responds. "However, for some reason… I believe the answer lies in the knife itself…"

* * *

 

"I have to admit," Peeta says quietly, as they sit on the floor in the western dorm, next to the common room, "This is the strangest experience I've ever been through or had." He turns to look at Katniss, who paces the room aimlessly, "I bet that wasn't what you volunteered for, huh?"

Katniss chuckles humorlessly, "You can say that again," she shakes her head. "Even for 'Hunger Games' standards, this was never heard of."

"Wonder what they're gonna do to us if we won't find whoever is behind this," Peeta blinks, voice low.

"Does it even matter?" Katniss all but spits out, "We're going to die in the arena anyway… Haymitch can play the guessing game all he wants, at the end of the day we're not going to live this through. I don't know where he got this optimistic-feeling all of a sudden. None of this matter, we're all dead, anyway."

She promised Prim to whatever it takes to come home. But she's just being realistic, here.

"Maybe it's not about living this through, maybe it's about the actual game…" Peeta thinks.

"What do you mean?"

"Whoever stabbed her is going to be punished, we know that, right?" Katniss nods at him, "And I bet this guy knew the consequences of his actions, weather he's smart, fool, or just pure insane. And we know Snow's not going to kill him. He won't kill tributes randomly, because he'll have to explain how all of his happened."

"He will have to explain it anyway," Katniss passes a hand through her hair, "A career girl died, a very popular career girl. The sponsors will notice her absence immediately. It's not something you can hide."

"Of course not," Peeta doesn't doubt it. "But as long as it stays in the shadows, Snow can pretend all of this was a sad accident. Him getting rid of another tribute will raise a lot of eyebrows. And whoever did this, I bet they thought of that. That in itself is a clue. Finding out whoever has the guts of pulling something like this off, under the Capitol's nose… That will tell us a lot about this tribute. Including the option of taking them down."

Katniss can see where he's going with this. "Yes," she says, "And we have exactly…" she looks at the far wall, "Two hours and fifty-three minutes to figure this out, and-"

A weird sound it heard suddenly. Katniss tilts her head at Peeta, who frowns.

"You hungry?" she raises an eyebrow.

"Eh…" Peeta's eyes travel across the room, "No, not really…"

"Your stomach just growled."

Peeta's frown only deepens, "No, it didn't."

"Pretty sure it did."

"Katniss," Peeta sighs, "I'm not hung-"

"Wait," Katniss raises a hand to shush him, "there it is again."

Peeta stops all movement to listen, and sure enough, a small, rumbling side is heard somewhere to their left, right beneath the old royal furniture.

It's not a growling stomach, it's…. "It sounds like a buzz or something," Peeta says. He gets up from the current position, and both he and Katniss approach the couch.

Then Katniss inhales. She recognizes this noise. But no. It can't be. This must be a nightmare. A bad dream. Sure enough, she's going to wake up, and see Prim smiling at her from their shared place in the bed, in their house at district twelve. It's all just a bad dream. Because there's just no way that she's stuck here, with 23 kids aiming to kill her, a shallow Capitolite plastic-doll, a useless drunk and…. _Him_.

She lift's the couch's pillows at once, and gasps. Oh heavens, this _is_ real, she thinks as she takes the first look at the source of the riddle. Surely, the noise wasn't Peeta's stomach rumbling. Wasn't a rumble at all, but a purr.

Katniss' upper lip arches in a snarl, as she stares at one of her worst enemies. Peeta, on the other hand, smiles fondly at this wicked nemesis.

"Well. Hello." He says, arms reaching forward. "How did _you_ get here?"

It's Katniss turn to growl, as she stares at the vicious creature.

"I really should have cooked you." She says, voice threatening.

Buttercup licks his paw in response.

* * *

 

"You brought _your cat_ here?" District 4 girl snaps in irritation, "What on earth i _s_ this? The friggin' Panem-circus?"

Katniss crossed her arms on her chest, "This is _not_ my cat…" she answers, annoyed, "He belongs to my sister, Prim. I have absolutely _no idea_ how he got on the train in the first place. For all I know he came to piss me off, throwing me off my game, so to speak."

Clove chuckles wickedly, "You keep getting yourselves in trouble, 12," she seems to enjoy this, almost, "first the escort, now obviously breaking the rules with this thing," she gestures at the cat, currently in Peeta's arms, as Katniss refused to touch it (not that he would allow her, anyway). "It's going to be so much fun, watching you guys being tortured in the arena…" Katniss narrows her eyes at that, "too bad you're probably both gonna die before we get you, but, well… a girl can dream…"

"Can't you kick this thing out of here?" District 10 numbly-looking girl covers her mouth and nose, staring at where Peeta is, with Buttercup in arms, "I'm allergic to cats. Plus, he has mean-looking face."

Katniss agrees with her whole-heartedly.

"Who, this guy?" Peeta inquires, scratching buttercup behind said half-eaten ear, "He's nothing but a friendly furr-ball. Aren't you?" he looks down at him, "You're a good kitty-kitty. You are! Yes you are, you!"

Buttercup purrs at Peeta. Figures. Katniss rolls her eyes.

She never tried cat-soup before.

Now she wonders.

"Oh, ok." Peeta surrenders, "I'll find a place for him where he can do no damage." And with that, he waltzes off the room with the beast.

* * *

 

"I still say it was _Clove_ in the _lobby_ with the _knife_!" Chaff insists, hands curl into tight fists, eyes sparkling in determination.

Clove's teeth snap at that, her gaze menacing, but Brutus responds in her place, "Will you cut that _out_?!" he thunders at Chaff, "Didn't we already mention that Snow has ears everywhere? This isn't a game, you know!"

"Oh, yeah?!" chaff stands his ground, "Well, none of this would have happened if-"

"Alright!" Haymitch reappears in the room, Johanna and Finnick in tow, "Who was the last one to hold this?" he waves the sharp object in-front of the group. The knife he pulled out of Glimmer's chest.

It's the round knife. While the short-blade knives were many in numbers, and the long-handled ones, too, the round knife was unique in the training center. One of a couple.

Who was the tribute to bring a rare knife from the training center up to the living-floors?

Each and every one of the tributes look at each other suspiciously. The silence is intense, and then, "T'was me." Clove says with a shrug. "I brought this knife from downstairs. Wanted to check out the blade. What of it?"

"See? See?!" Chaff jumps enthusiastically. "I told you! It was _Clove_ in the _lobby_ with the knife the whole time! I-"

"It was not!" Clove turns to him in anger, "I didn't touch her!"

Just then, they notice a fairy-like escort invading their line of sight, "Well," Effie says, entering the room, looking around, "From the heated conversation, I guess you didn't find whoever is responsible for this rude action, yet?" she asks needlessly.

"Nice of you to finally make an appearance!"Cato all but snorts in anger, "and no, we didn't," he says, few feet from him, Haymitch looks at Effie with obvious disappointment written all over his face, "And this should really worry you, escort. Snow is not going to cut you any slack. You should be the first one to cooperate here. Besides-"

"-Alright, alright," Haymitch cuts in his lecture, "we're wasting time here," he then turns to the murderous, unstable fifteen-year-old, "Need I to mention, Clove, how problematic is the fact that the last knife you've touched, the last one to touch is, was sticking out of her chest?"

"In her heart, you mean," Cecilia corrects him innocently.

"No, in her chest," answers Haymitch, "About 3 centimeters bellow her heart, but was enough to kill her… _if she hadn't already been dead."_

The tributes glare at him in obvious shock. Even the careers seem surprised. Effie looks at Haymitch with suspicion. "You say the knife didn't kill her?"

"That's right."

Effie blinks nervously. Gloss bursts with sudden sarcastic, humorless laughter. "Well, that's just _perfect_ , 12!" he accuses, "so instead of wrapping everything up, you just bring more questions to make things worse!"

"No, he isn't." Effie speaks again, her gaze on a far point in the room, eyes unfocused.

"Huh?" the group asks all together, Haymitch looking at her awkwardly.

"He isn't," Effie repeats, gulping, "Because _I_ killed Glimmer."


End file.
